Sleep Matters

Sleep is one of the most valuable luxuries we have in life.  The fact that we are able to res our bodies, allows us to then feel refreshed and full, or complete.  Sleep helps us forget stress, sleep calms us.  However when you do not sleep, you do not sleep, you are causing more stress for yourself, because you have to work harder to accomplish normal things.  For instance working out, it is so hard to workout without resting your body, that by working out while tired, you aren’t accomplishing anything, (or relieving your pain). Just think about it!  In order to maintain a healthy workout schedule, you should sleep 7-8 hours a day. 

What is Aqua Zumba

In my last post I discussed how effective “Zumba” is as a stress reliever, and a workout.  This lead me to address a common mistake some make.  There is always “the easy way out”.  People came out with this idea of “aqua zumba” which I have witnessed many times at work.  Aqua Zumba is simply, water aerobics.  Lets be honest, they make you think you are burning so many calories moving around with the resistance of the water, but in reality you are not.  I have been around these classes for years, and have never seen anyone get positive results, I see it as a way to just get in the pool.  If you want to do a workout in the pool, SWIM! I mean common, look at Michael Phelps.

Put on Your Dacning Shoes

If you have been reading my blog, you may think to yourself, “sure I understand exercise kills your stress, but none of this is fun”.  I get that, I may be weird because I love working out, but what I do not love is dancing.  However, dancing may be your passion, and turns out, its a killer exercise.  One of the most up and coming dance styles/classes is zumba.  Zumba is a mixture of upbeat music, with a killer active workout routine.  A lot of my friends have personally been trying zumba (primarily girls, not only). They have all said  it is a killer workout, and that you may want to check out “Zumba Exhilarate  Body Shaping System DVD Set”.  Zumba also is beginning to appear locally in classes, check it out!

Barbells

Ok, do recall me discussing how dumbbells are some of the most versatile weights in exercise technology. However, I left out the part about the dumbbells cousin: The Barbell.  Barbells are very useful for a plethora of exercises,  and allow you to engage both arms while holding them.  Because there are so many different exercises to do with barbells, they give killer workouts, and allow you to pump all the emotions right out of you.  Rep after rep the burn gets even better.  In terms of barbells, they are all pretty standard, so the kind you get is not too important.  I encourage you to try workouts to relieve your stress with barbells, they are quite helpful.  Also, be sure to check out Mark Vermeer’s  blog on dumbbells vs. barbells, its a great read—>http://markvermeer.com/dumbells-vs-barbells/

Dumbbells Are Not Shake weights

If you are reading this post, I hope its because you have been following my updates.  I haven’t updated in a while, I do apologize.  I have talked about a lot of ways to relieve stress through exercising.  Through this, I have mentioned what products I love to use when working out.  However, there are ways to do it wrong, yes there are.  In my last post I discussed how you can use dumbbells to workout your whole body.  In the past couple of years we have seen a few “revolutionary” (so they say) products for working out.  The most well known one, in my opinion is the ever so infamous, Shake Weight. The product is seen on many infomercials,  and the advertising makes people think that it is a fantastic product.  Of course they show a man/woman who is in tip top shape using the shake weight to say something to the effect of “gets you in shape so quickly”.  So what? Running gets you in shape quickly, and its free.  What in shape person, do you know that can contribute there fitness to a shake weight?  (honestly try to answer this) In all honesty, the product does get great reviews, but honestly, where is the credibility? The jacked dude, and the toned woman, on the commercial, were already in shape, nothing do to with the product.  Think about it!

The Magic Of Dumbells

Life can often be so simple, that we overlook it, and never can find exactly what we want, when in reality it is right beneath our nose.   If you can think about what you are doing, you truly come to discover a lot more than you set out to find out.  It is so easy!

People tend to think running takes to much effort, or with shoes, you can only run.  People think that workout videos get old and boring/repetitive.  There is nothing wrong with making those statements.  However, you are shooting yourself in the foot when you say “I guess there is nothing else I can do to workout”.  There are these little inexpensive tools, called dumbbells. Dumbbells are hand held weights that are rather small, yet quite versatile.  A lot of people (like myself) will initially say that the can only be used for arm exercises. WRONG! Dumbbells are like IPhones! They have a plethora of functions.  From my best knowledge, there are at least 17 exercises, utilizing your whole body with dumbbells.  The Cap Barbell 40 pound set is very versatile.  You only have two weights, that can interchange different weight combos.  However there are plenty of great dumbbells.  Some, have different purposes, like the Tone Fitness set .  These are simply made for high reps, to tone your muscles.  If you have never used dumbbells, there are plenty YouTube videos to watch.  If you are willing to spend a little extra change, I would recommend the Bowflex select tech, 4 rep video.  Stress can be relieved with working out, and there is no reason you should say, “what exercise can I do”.

How Math Can Haunt You or Help You: Food for thought

For a lot of us, the expression “money doesn’t grow on trees” comes up quite frequently.  We find that with every purchase we make, we are invincible, and we can keep spending, and spending,  without a care of what we are doing.  I know I deal with this issue a lot.  Being a college student, money becomes even more valuable, and you don’t even realize it, and don’t say you do, as you sip on a five dollar coffee and four dollar muffin from Starbucks, that you most likely wont finish.

What am I saying?  “Look at all those fancy clothes, but these can keep us warm, just like those” This is a quote by Jack Johnson, from the song “Gone” off of his album On And On.  There are prescribed drugs, for stress and anxiety that one can buy.   I take Prozac, and I honestly think I could stop taking it, because of all the methods I have found that work just as well.  Lets say you take a 20mg Prozac tablet.  Your prescription will be about seventy five dollars (what I pay) for a month.  seventy five dollars, for one month, when you can use Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown Video, for only eight dollars, and not have it for just a month, but forever.  You will continue, your prescription, so seventy five multiplied by twelve (twelve months a year) is nine hundred dollars for one year. You could buy the Horizon Fitness T101-3 Treadmill, have it for at least twenty years, (240 months) and pay two hundred fifty dollars less.  Now assuming you need to fight your anxiety battle for the rest of your life, we will tack on fifty years in addition to taking the  medicine.  Fifty multiplied by nine hundred is, forty five thousand dollars, and we can all name a plethora of ways to relieve stress that cost way less than that.  Jack Johnson said it best “Look at all those fancy clothes, but these can keep us warm, just like those”.  In the world we live in , we have to be extremely cautious with how we spend money.  You do not need to invest copious amounts of money in prescriptions, that may not even work.  There are more affordable, more efficient, and more effective ways to do  relieve stress, and I am here to share them with, you, and take away your pain.  If you like this post, hit the follow button on the bottom of the page.